Breezy, Heavy

“My two bands are so different; I lead a completely bipolar life,” says local bandleader Gary Zon, who fronts the industrial goth group Dismantled and a breezy pop outfit called Aerodrone.

“I started Dismantled back in 2001, when I was heavily into dark music like Skinny Puppy and Nine Inch Nails,” says Zon. “Our last album in 2006 was called When I’m Dead.”

“But, around 2005, I realized I had another side of me that was bored with dark, depressing music, so I got into pop and started Aerodrone. Dismantled is kind of my black side, and Aerodrone is the white me.…

“People who like Aerodrone tend to be around 15 to 17 years old and into trendy emo scenes and clothes. They make YouTube videos of themselves miming our lyrics, about stuff like Supercuts and Converse shoes, and they write ‘OMG’ on MySpace a lot.

“Dismantled fans are goth, mysterious, and tend to be moody and write long, meaningful messages. They like our skull logo, tattoos, and they enjoy lyrics like ‘When I’m dead, I hope the planet wipes every trace of my existence on this wretched ground.’ ”

He says few listeners are familiar with both bands.

“During Aerodrone’s first national tour this past summer, some shows had to be booked with Dismantled as the headliner, since they’re more well known. I played with Aerodrone first, wearing hipster white American Apparel jackets and sunglasses, and then an hour later I was donning body armor, a gas mask, and steel-toed boots for Dismantled.…

“Even as a headliner,” says Zon, “Aerodrone usually makes less money than Dismantled.” Aerodrone appears November 21 at UCSD.

– Jay Allen Sanford